Container with an insert and a lid

ABSTRACT

A container ( 1 ) comprising a body ( 30 ) having an open end, an insert ( 40 ) arranged to fit inside the body and a lid ( 20 ) to close the open end of the body. The insert is designed to accommodate a product, and contacts the lid during opening to facilitate removal of the lid from the body. The lid is arranged inside the periphery of the open end of the body and the container is adapted to be opened by a user by pushing down on a portion of the lid until it engages with the insert, causing the opposite side of the lid to lift up and thereby allowing the lid to be easily removed by a user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a container having a lid, a body and aninsert. The invention is particularly directed to an arrangement whichfacilitates opening and subsequent removal of the lid from the body. Theinsert is adapted to hold a product, is arranged inside the body and isadapted to form an integral part of the opening mechanism.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Accordingly, the invention provides a container having a body, whichincludes an insert designed to accommodate a product, and a lid arrangedto close the body, characterised in that the lid is arranged inside theperiphery of the open end of the body and the container is adapted to beopened by a user by pushing down on a portion of the lid until itengages with the insert, causing the opposite side of the lid to lift upallowing the lid to be easily removed by the user.

Conventionally, lids are fitted to the open end of a container body, byoverlapping the outside of the body side-wall. The lid may be secured onthe body by one of more beads on the external surface of the side-wallof the body, which engage with the internal surface of the side-wall ofthe lid. The internal surface of the lid may also be provided with oneor more beads or recesses to co-operate with the beads on the body. Suchlids can be difficult to open, depending on the size and shape of thecontainer.

By contrast, the lid according to the invention is retained inside theperiphery of the open end of the body and secured therein by pips on theexternal surface of the lid side-wall, which engage with the curl at theopen end of the body. The user pushes down on the lower portion of thelid which pops the top of the lid up, overcoming the engagement betweenthe pips on the lid and the curl on the body. This enables the consumerto remove the lid by easily pulling the lid out of the container body.

Much less effort is required to push down a portion of the lid than isrequired to pull the lid and body apart on a conventional container andlid combination. Pushing down a portion of the lid is partly assisted bythe user's body-weight and thus, a container according to the inventionis able to be opened easier and in more controlled manner.

The container according to the invention requires the insert to becomestructural, because it must interact with the lid during opening. Theinsert can be manufactured from a variety of materials, but mostcommonly a vac-form or dense structural foam is used.

Furthermore, the insert may be provided with a cut away, to allow thelid to flip up. The shape, size and position of this cut away may bevaried to provide different amounts of movement.

The lid design may have a flat, recessed panel as shown in the attacheddrawings, or the lid may be embossed or textured. The lid design mayalso have some physical indication of where a user should push toinitiate opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a container according to the inventionin a closed position;

FIG. 2 shows an isometric view of the container of FIG. 1 after a userhas pushed down on one side of the lid, which pops up the opposite sideof the lid;

FIG. 3 shows a cut through. cross-sectional view of the container in theposition shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows an exploded isometric view of the container, after the lidhas been removed from the body exposing the insert and product containedtherein (not shown) to the user.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a container 1 according to the invention includes abody 30 and a lid 20. The body 30 has a side wall 32 and the lid 20 hasa flat, recessed panel 22, which may be embossed or textured (notshown).

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to open the container lid 20 a userpresses down on one side of the lid 20, which disengages one or morepips 25 from a curl around the periphery of the body 30 (not shown). Asthe user presses down on the lid 20, it contacts a cut away 45 on theinsert 40 (see FIG. 3), lifting the opposite side of the lid 20, whichmay then simply be lifted off the body 30. As previously described, thebody 30 has a side-wall 32, a bottom or base 34 and an open top (notlabelled).

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the container according to the inventioncomprises a body 30, which accommodates an insert 40 and a lid 20, whichis arranged inside the open end of the body 30. One or more pips 25 areprovided on the external, depending side-wall of the lid 20. The pips 25are arranged to engage with a curl around the periphery of the open endof the body (not shown)

It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that although a squaresection container is illustrated in the drawings, the container may beprovided with a section of different shapes, for example triangular,round, or other complex shapes.

1. A container includes a body having an open end, an insert arranged tofit inside the body and designed to accommodate a product, and a lid toclose the open end of the body, characterised in that: the lid isarranged inside the periphery of the open end of the body and thecontainer is adapted to be opened by a user by pushing down on a portionof the lid until it engages with the insert, causing an opposite side ofthe lid to lift up allowing the lid to be easily removed by a user.
 2. Acontainer according to claim 1, wherein the lid or the body has one ormore pips adapted to engage with the other of the open end of thecontainer body or the lid.
 3. A container according to claim 1, whereinthe insert is provided with a cut away and the lid contacts the cut awayduring opening.
 4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the shapeof the cut away is modified to achieve different amounts of movementduring opening.
 5. A container according to claim 1, wherein the lid hasa recessed panel.
 6. A container according to claim 5, wherein therecessed panel is embossed or textured.
 7. A container according toclaim 5, wherein the lid includes a physical or visual indication ofwhere to push to initiate opening.